Mid-Plains Community College expands in three cities

While many businesses have scaled back in recent years with the struggling economy, one educational organization in western Nebraska is expanding in three communities. Mid-Plains Community College President Dr. Michael Chipps says the first project is a health complex in North Platte which he says will be an important addition for the region.

Chipps says the college supplies 60 to 80-percent of the health professionals into eight area hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living homes and medical clinics. Chipps says the facility was first proposed in 1989 and it has taken 22 years to turn it from an idea into a reality.

The proposal was reignited in 2007 and the school has spent the last three years raising funds and creating a design concept. He says it may have taken a while, but the health complex will provide incredible opportunities for people looking to get into health care.

It will cover all levels of nursing, from CNA to LPN and ADN or RNs, including dental assistants and lab technicians and EMS. Chipps says the facility will also house a number of science labs and math classrooms and it will be used for specialized training.

The second project is an events center in McCook that will be used for a number of things, from sporting events to large congregational events and more. Chipps says groundbreaking will begin almost immediately on the two projects, even though the funding hasn’t been fully secured yet.

The projects, according to Dr. Chipps, are expected to be finished by July 2012.

Meanwhile, the college is moving forward with an expansion at its Ogallala satellite office. The Ogallala facility will be moving to a new location with expanded areas for instruction. That facility is expected to be open for business by the start of the fall semester.